By Shane O'Neill

Woah Nellie, water woes continue for West Flat resident

Aug 30, 2016 | 6:00 AM

Nellie Souter came to Monday’s city council meeting hoping to finally get a resolution to her dispute over her June water bill — one she can’t pay, and she says is unfair.

That resolution did not come on Monday, but not for a lack of trying on the part of city council.

“I’m just a senior, I live in the house by myself,” Souter said. “There’s no way in God’s green earth that I created that water bill. I don’t care what their water department says.”

The total of her June bill was $5,776.82 and was the result of a leak in the pressurized water line into her house. Souter, a senior with a fixed income, did not immediately notice the leak and the problem was not addressed.

In July, council moved to forgive almost $600 in late fees for the bill and suspend payment until a resolution could be found. On Monday, two resolutions were presented.

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City staff originally reduced the total price of the bill by half, leaving a balance of $2,858.41 for Souter to pay. But as a senior, living alone in her West Flat home, even that amount of money is too much to bear.

Coun. Charlene Miller, who represents Souter’s ward, moved to reduce the total bill to $300 to accommodate Souter’s fixed income and put the issue to rest. Miller said for many seniors living in P.A. a lack of long-term care facilities means older residents are living in their homes longer and more should be done to help when issues like this come up.

“I think that we need to think about [senior] residents who live in their houses and own their houses as well,” Miller said.

Coun. Miller’s motion was ultimately defeated, but council did move to refer the issue to the city manager for further review.

Mayor Greg Dionne said he, and all of council, empathizes with Souter as well as other seniors living in Prince Albert, but the situation is a difficult one. Officials investigated the leak, as well as the water meter in Souter’s home, and found the reading was accurate and the bill justified.

“It’s a tough one,” Dionne said after the meeting. “But the problem is council should have made the decision today. We’re not going to set a precedent. At the end of the day, everyone acknowledges there was a leak.”

One idea to avoid issues like Souter’s in the future would be to move to a monthly billing cycle for water customers, as opposed to the current three-month cycle. A monthly bill could bring issues like excessive water consumption to the attention of home owners sooner. The idea was presented in the past, most notably by Coun. Lee Atkinson, and the issue will be considered going forward.

“The idea of monthly billing I think would mitigate these circumstances for various people,” Atkinson said.

The city manager will review Souter’s case and report back to council at the next meeting, on September 19.

shane.oneill@panow.com

On Twitter: @stroneill